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Create Natural PowerPoint Reflection Effect

Learn to create a natural reflection effect in a simple step by step way. Overcome the limitations of the default reflection options in PowerPoint.

Problem with default PowerPoint reflection:

A simple way to add visual interest to your photos is to use ‘Reflection’ tool under ‘Picture effects’ tab.

While the effect works quite well for simple photos in 2D perspective, the results are quite poor when the images are in 3D perspective. Here is an example where we applied standard reflection option to an image:

The reflection looks quite unnatural because of the inherent limitation in the standard reflection options.

In this article, you will learn to create more natural looking reflections by applying a simple technique. The result will be much closer to reality as follows:

Here are the steps to follow to create more natural reflections in PowerPoint.

Step 1: Copy the Original

Make a copy of the image and place it below the original image. Use ‘Send to back’ option to push the copy to background. Allow part of the original image to overlap the copy so that the corners in the front coincide:

Step 2: Create A Gradient

Draw a wide rectangle using ‘Rectangle’ tool in Auto shapes menu. Right click on the rectangle -> go to Format shape -> Fill -> Gradient fill. Use just two gradient stops for the fill.

Let the first stop be at 0%. Make the fill color as ‘White’ to match the slide background color. Change the transparency levels to 50%.

Let the second stop be at 100%. Make the fill color ‘White’ and leave the transparency at 0%.